Goodbye My Friend
by bjames238
Summary: Instead of Tara, Willow was the one who got shot in Seeing Red. Read on to find out what happens.


**Goodbye My Friend**

_BtVS S6 Ensemble_

Disclaimer: I own nothing; Joss Whedon owns that right.

"Hey, clothes." Willow said.

"Better not get used to 'em." Tara said.

"Mmm. Yes ma'am." Willow said. She pulled Tara in for a hug.

As they hugged, Tara looked out the window. She saw Xander walking up to Buffy.  
"Xander." She said.

"Okay, not quite the response I was fishin' for." Willow said. She went over to the  
window to see. Tara went over to the dresser to get the brush.

"No, he's here." Tara said. She ran the brush through her hair.

"Think they're making up?" Willow asked.

"I hope so. That's the best part." She smiled.

"Time for the spring pokin' already?" Xander said. Buffy turned around and looked at  
him.

"I was just making sure there are no more evil Trio cameras. Or evil uno." Buffy said.

"The sinister, yet addictive card game?" Xander said.

"Warren. Jonathan and Andrew got clinked, but Warren pulled a Rocket Man." Buffy  
told him.

"You'll find him. He won't be that much good without his friends." Xander said. Buffy  
looked him in the eyes.

"No, he won't." Buffy put the stick down and they sat down on the bench. A few  
moments passed.

"How did we get here?" Xander asked.

"Scenic route. Long drive." Buffy joked.

"The past few weeks--"

"I know."

"I thought I hit bottom, but . . . it hurt . . . that you didn't trust me enough to tell me about  
Spike. It hurt." Xander said.  
"I'm sorry. I should've told you." Buffy said.

"Maybe you would have, if I hadn't give you so many reasons to think I'd have been a ass  
about it."

"Guess we've all done a lot of thinks lately we're not proud of."

"I think I've got you beat."

"Wanna compare?"

"Not so much." Xander said. "I just don't know what I'd do without you and Will."

"Let's not find out." Buffy said, tears forming in her eyes. They hugged. "Oh. I love you.  
You know that right?" There were footsteps behind them.

"Buffy!" Xander said. He saw Warren coming up to them with a gun in his hand. They  
stood up. "Buffy!"

"You think you could just do that to me? You think I'd let you get away with that."  
Warren said. He laughed. "Think again." He shot off five bullets as he ran away. Buffy pushed  
Xander out of the way. As he ran off, his arm went up and he shot two of the five upward.

Up in Willow's room, two bullets hit Willow while she stood in front of the window.  
Tara saw holes in her neck and near her heart. Blood spattered on Tara's white blouse and all  
over her face.

"Your shirt." Willow said as she fell to the ground. Tara went down after her.

"Willow?" Tara said.

Down in Buffy's garden, Buffy lay on the ground, not moving. Xander got up and dusted  
himself off. "Sweet fancy Moses. Where the hell did he--" He saw Buffy on the ground. "Oh  
God!"

Up in Willow's room, Tara held Willow's body in her arms. Willow was still alive but  
was losing consciousness fast. Blood just poured out of her neck and all over Tara.

"Willow! Baby? Baby, come on! Get up!" Tara sobbed. She rocked back and forth.

Down in Buffy's garden Xander knelt next to Buffy who wasn't moving. "Oh God!   
Buffy?" He put his hand on her left shoulder and blood soakrd through. "Buffy? Buffy! Oh  
God! She needs help!" He got up and ran into the house. He got the phone and dialed 911. He  
went back into the back yard.

"This is 911, what is your emergency?" The operator said calmly.  
"M-my friend was shot! Come quick to 1630 Revello Drive. She's in the back yard."

"Okay. An ambulance will be there momentarily." The operator said. She was still calm.  
Xander hung up the phone.

A minute later an ambulance came down the street. Xander led the paramedics to the  
back. They loaded her up and rolled to the ambulance. All of a sudden, Tara came running out  
of the house covered in blood.

"Wait! Xander, Willow's been shot too!" Tara said.

"We don't have room for her." One of the paramedics said.

"I'll drive behind in the Jeep. I'll go get her." Tara ran back into the house and up the  
stairs. She stood Willow up and put Willow's arm around Tara's neck.

Willow was barely conscious and Tara found it hard to get her down the stairs, but she  
managed. She grabbed the keys to the Jeep off the hook and went outside. She put Willow in  
the passenger side up front. She drove behind the ambulance. She kept talking, yelling even, at  
Willow to keep her awake. She even slapped her on the face a couple of times.

When they reached the hospital, Xander climbed out of the ambulance. While the  
paramedics wheeled Buffy in, Xander went to help Tara with Willow. He ran towards Willow  
and Tara. Tara was sobbing.

"Xander, she's not gonna make it." Tara whimpered. Xander saw that she was having  
problems getting Willow out of the seat because the redhead was slippery with blood. He helped  
her carry Willow inside the hospital.

"Please! Someone help!" Xander shouted.

The doctors and nurses took Willow and strapped her to a Gurney. 

An hour later, a doctor came up to Xander and Tara where they were sitting in the lobby.

"Miss Summers will make it. We were able to stop the bleeding and extract the bullet.   
She heals remarkably fast." The doctor said.

"What about Willow?" Xander asked.

"Miss Rosenberg sustained injuries to several organs and--"

"Just tell us." Xander said.

"She didn't make it. We tried everything, but nothing helped. I'm sorry for your loss.  
You may see Miss Summers, she's in the Recovery Room."  
The doctor walked away. Tara leaned her head on Xander's chest and cried. Her baby  
was gone.

"We should see Buffy and tell her. Then I'll call Dawn's school . . . and Giles." Xander  
said. They stood up, but Tara didn't let go of Xander. They walked that way all the way to  
Buffy's room.

Buffy was sitting up in bed and was awake. There was a sling on her left arm.

"Buff--" Xander started to say.

"I'm okay Xander. Hi Tara. Where's Willow?" Buffy asked. At the mention of  
Willow's name, Tara sobbed even louder.

"S-she's d-dead." Xander said.

"W-What? How?" Buffy said.

"When Warren shot you, he got her too." Xander said. "She got shot twice, once in the  
neck, and once near her heart."

"B-but . . ." Buffy cried. "Where's Dawn?"

"At school. I was just about to call." Xander said.

"Go, now!" Buffy shouted. Xander ran out of the room. Tara sat next to Buffy on the  
bed. Buffy held Tara, and together they cried.

Dawn was at school having her history lesson. She wasn't really paying attention. Her  
teacher, Mr. Haberman, was making the lesson really boring. She had almost fallen asleep twice.  
The lesson was on the War of 1812. As if that wasn't bad enough, Mr. Haberman acted like he  
was actually interested. She was doodling on her notebook. A student came in the room and  
gave Mr. Haberman a note. The teacher looked at Dawn.

"Xander Harris called. There's been an accident. Your sister is in the hospital. You  
need to go, now." Mr. Haberman said.

"What happened?" Dawn asked.

"Mr. Harris didn't say. Don't worry about your things. Just go." Dawn ran out of the  
classroom and all the way to the hospital. She walked up to the receptionist.

"Buffy Summers. I need to know what room she's in." Dawn said breathlessly.

"What relation are you?"  
"I'm her sister."

"Your sister is in room 183. You can see her." The receptionist said.

Dawn raced to Buffy's room. She walked in and saw Buffy, Xander, and Tara. Buffy  
was holding Tara on the bed.

"Buffy! Are you okay?" Dawn asked.

"I'm fine Dawnie. But there's some things you need to know." Buffy cleared her throat.  
"It was Warren who shot me. I'm fine. My shoulder is just a little messed up, but it will heal.  
And--" Buffy said. Dawn noticed that someone was missing.

"Where's Willow?" Dawn asked.

"Oh, sweetie, she was shot too." Buffy said. Tears formed in Dawn's eyes.

"Where is she? Is she okay?"

"No, Dawnie, she's not." Tara said. "She was hurt really badly and the doctors couldn't  
help her. She didn't make it."

"What! I wanna see her!" Tears now ran down her cheeks and off her chin.

"I don't think that's such a good idea." Buffy said. Dawn went to hug her sister, but  
accidently bumped her hurt shoulder. "Uh!" Buffy grunted.

"I'm sorry." Dawn snarled She quickly stepped back so she wouldn't hurt her sister  
anymore.

"It's okay Dawn. I'm not mad." Buffy said.

"I wanna see her." Dawn said firmly.

"Okay. But ask yourself this: Can you handle it?" Buffy asked. Dawn nodded. Buffy  
sighed. Dawn didn't care.

"I'll take her. Oh, Giles is coming back." Xander said. They walked out of the room.

"Tara do you wanna go with?" Buffy asked her friend.

"N-no. I-I'll stay with you." Tara said. Her face was red and tear-stained.

"It's fine. You can go if you want. I'm fine." Buffy assured her.

"O-okay." Tara said.  
"Tara?" Buffy asked. Tara turned back. "Say goodbye, for me?" Buffy asked. Tara  
nodded.

When her friends left the room, Buffy let it all out. Her best friend was dead. She needed  
to call Angel. She needed him to tell her it would be okay.

She reached over carefully as to not hurt her shoulder. She grabbed the phone and set in  
on her lap. She picked up the receiver and dialed the number to Angel's hotel.

"This is Angel Investigations. We help the help--"

"Cordelia?" Buffy sobbed. She couldn't help it.

"Buffy? What's the matter?" Cordelia asked.

"Can I talk to Angel? It's really important." Buffy sniffled.

"Sure, ah, okay. I'll go get him." Buffy didn't have to wait very long. "Buffy? Here's  
Angel."

"Buffy, what happened? Cordelia said you sound really upset." Angel asked.

"S-she's dead!" Buffy sobbed.

"Who's dead?" Angel asked.

"I-It's Willow!" Buffy cried.

"What happened?" Angel asked. Buffy told him everything. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. But Willow's gone Angel. She's really gone." Buffy sobbed again.

"Okay, ah, I'm coming up and don't you argue." Angel said. Then the line went dead.

In Los Angeles, Angel put the phone down. Cordelia, Fred, Gunn, Lorne, and the  
Grooselog were staring at him.

"Well, what happened?" Cordelia asked.

"Willow's dead." Angel said. Cordelia's face went pale.

"How?" Cordelia asked.

"They've been dealing with these guys. And one was trying to kill Buffy this morning,  
but he got Willow too. Buffy says she's fine, but I'm going up there." Angel said.

"I'm going with." Cordelia said.  
"No, you're not." Angel said.

"Yes I am. And besides. It's day. You need me to drive." Cordelia said.

"Fine. Why don't we all go?" Angel said. "Me, Gunn, Lorne, and Groo in my car. Fred,  
Cordy, go in Cordy's Jeep." Angel said.

"What about Conner?" Fred said.

"Right. Lorne, Groo, you guys stay here. Everyone else, let's go."

In Sunnydale, Dawn, Xander, and Tara were walking down the halls following the nurse  
to where Willow's body was. The nurse led them to a Gurney covered with a white sheet.

"We cleaned her up as best we could, but she bled a lot." The nurse said. She pulled the  
sheet off of Willow's head. The nurse left saying she would give them some time alone. What  
Tara saw made her heart stop.

There was blood all over Willow's pretty red hair. There was a tube coming out of her  
mouth. In place of her clothes was a white plastic gown covered in blood. Her eyes were still  
open, and they were still a sparkly green. There was a hole in her neck and chest. There was  
dried blood around the corners of her mouth and both nostrils. There was blood all over the floor  
and all the equipment.

Beside Tara, Dawn gasped. She started crying and Tara held her. Tara started crying too.  
Xander went up to Willow and picked up her lifeless head. Xander's tears dropped on Willow's  
face, washing away the blood

"Willow! Why did you have to die?" Xander sobbed.

"Xander, we have to call her parents." Dawn said. He looked at her in shock.

"Why? They don't care. They never did. Why would they now?"

"But Xander. They need to know." Tara said.

"Fine! You guys call them. I won't have any part in it." Xander said. He stormed out of  
the room and slammed the door.

"I'll call." Dawn said.

"Dawnie, you don't have to." Tara said.

"I want to. You just say goodbye." Dawn said.

"Thank you Dawn." Tara said.  
"You're welcome." Dawn said. "Take your time." Dawn walked out of the room.

Tara turned to face Willow. It both sickened and comforted her to look at the redhead..  
She walked over and stroked Willow's blood-matted hair. She wished she could do something to  
change this. If she could, she would go back in time and switch places with Willow. She would  
do it in a heartbeat. But she knew she couldn't. It would be too dangerous. And impossible.

She felt fresh tears fall down her face. A drop fell from her eye and landed on Willow's  
cheek. 

She thought back to happier times. One particular thought that came to mind was when  
they had done their first spell together. They had been fighting the Gentlemen. But now they  
would never do anymore spells together. Never.When Dawn found a phone, she put the right amount of money in and dialed the right  
number. She waited what seemed like forever until the answering machine came on.

"You have reached the Rosenberg house. We are unavailable at the moment. Please  
leave a message after the beep and we'll get back to you." Willow's mom said. 

Dawn slammed the receiver down and smashed her finger. She put more money in the  
machine and tried again. This time she didn't wait very long until someone answered.

"Hello?" Mrs. Rosenberg said.

"This is Dawn Summers. Ah, I have some bad new for you."

"What did she do now?" Mrs. Rosenberg said.

"What do you mean?" Dawn asked.

"What trouble is Willow in now?" Mrs. Rosenberg asked.

"She's not in any trouble, and won't be ever again." Dawn said. Dawn resisted the urge  
to start crying again. "She's dead." 

"That's not possible."

"Yes it is. And she is dead. You and Mr. Rosenberg should come see her, say goodbye."  
Dawn said.

"We can't. We're headed to France." Mrs. Rosenberg said. Dawn couldn't believe what  
she was hearing.

"What is your problem?!" Dawn slammed the phone back on the receiver. She turned  
around. Everyone was staring at her. "What?" Everyone went back to whatever they had beendoing.

Dawn went back to Buffy's room and found the Slayer crying again. Dawn sat beside her  
sister. Buffy looked at her and rubbed her eyes.

"It's okay Buffy. You don't have to be a Slayer around me, remember. I'm your sister.  
She was your best friend." Dawn said to her sister.

"But Dawn, that's just it. She was my best friend, and I couldn't save her. I was too busy  
being hurt."

"Exactly. There was nothing you could have done."

"I could have stopped Warren before he ever had the chance to buy that gun."

"No, you couldn't have. Do you remember what Mom used to say? 'Some things are  
just meant to happen.' She said that after Angel left after your graduation. I saw you crying on  
Willow's lap when he broke up with you and told Mom. That's how she found out." Dawn said. 

"Yeah. Now both Mom and Willow are gone. My best friend and my mother." Buffy  
sniffled. "I don't have anyone left.

"But you've still got me, Xander, Giles, and Tara." Dawn spoke softly.

"Yeah. I guess I do." Buffy said. Dawn hugged her sister and they stayed that way for a  
while.

"Hello?" Angel said. They walked through the open door of the Summers' house. No  
one answered.  
"Hello?" Fred said. As soon as they were in the house, Angel could smell the blood. He  
could see it. It was all over the floor leading up the stairs. It was Willow's; he could tell. He  
looked over at Cordelia. There were tears running down her cheeks. Angel followed the blood  
up to Joyce Summer's old room. There was a huge puddle on the floor about a foot away from  
the window. There was glass mixed with the blood from the broken window.  
"Oh my—" Cordelia said. She fainted when she came in the room. Angel raced over and  
caught her. She covered her nose and mouth.  
"They must be at the hospital still." Angel said. "We should go." Cordelia nodded.

Three days later, they were at the cemetery, saying a final goodbye to the redheaded-  
witch. Her parents had come, after much convincing and many a swear word from the Slayer.  
Giles got back from England just a few hours earlier. Buffy still had the sling on her arm. She  
hated wearing it. It was just a constant reminder of how her best friend had died. Angel and his  
friends were still in Sunnydale. It was sunny out, so Angel was at Buffy's house, in the  
basement.  
Buffy just couldn't believe that this had happened. One minute she and Xander had been  
apologizing to one another, and the next, she stood at her best friend's grave site.  
The pastor was doing the service, but she couldn't hear the words. Xander was on herleft, and Dawn on her right. Giles and Tara were behind her. Mr. and Mrs. Rosenberg were  
about two feet away from Buffy. Cordelia, Fred, and Gunn were next to Giles. Dawn was  
crying. Xander was crying, and Tara too. But Buffy couldn't cry. She was sad, devastated even.  
Yet she couldn't cry. She just stood, staring at the red-colored wood coffin she had chosen  
herself. At the red roses lying on top of the coffin.  
The pastor must have stopped because Dawn was tapping her shoulder.   
"Buffy!" Dawn said. "It's over. The pastor's finished."   
"Oh." Buffy said, her gaze never leaving the coffin as it made its descent into the ground.  
"Why don't you go with Xander?"  
"Okay." Dawn hugged her and walked away.  
Buffy didn't move. Just remembered a little over a year earlier, at her mother's funeral.  
Dawn had gone with Willow and Tara afterward. Angel had come after dark, because Buffy was  
still watching her mother's grave. Now was basically the same. Except for one thing, one  
person. Willow. Willow was gone forever.  
"Mom, take care of her. Please." Buffy looked up to the sky. And knew that her mother  
and best friend were watching over her.

Of all the things I believe in. I just want to get it over with. Tears from behind my eyes,  
but I do not cry. Counting the days that past me by.

I've been searching deep down in my soul. Words that I'm hearing are starting to get old.  
Looks like I'm starting all over again. The last three years were just pretend. And I say:

Goodbye to you. Goodbye to everything I thought I knew. You were the one I love. The  
one thing that I tried to hold on to.

I still get lost in your eyes. And it seems like I can't live a day without you. Closing my  
eyes till you chase my thoughts away. To a place where I am blinded by the light, but it's not  
right.

Goodbye to you. Goodbye to everything I thought I knew. You were the one I loved. The  
one thing that I tried to hold on to.

Ohhh yeah. It hurts to want everything and nothing at the same time. I want what's  
yours, and I want what's mine. I want you but I'm not giving in this time.

Goodbye to you. Goodbye to everything I thought I knew. You were the one I loved. The  
one thing that I tried to hold on to. The one thing that I tried to hold on to.

Goodbye to you. Goodbye to everything I thought I knew. You were the one I loved. The  
one thing that I tried to hold on to.

We the stars fall and I lie awake. You're my shooting star.

Buffy sank to the ground and mourned. Mourned for her mother, and her best friend.

"I can't let you stay because of me." Buffy told her best friend.   
"Actually, this isn't about you. Although I'm fond, don't get me wrong, of you. The other night,  
you know, being captured and all, facing off with Faith. Things just, kind of, got clear. I mean,  
you've been fighting evil here for three years, and I've helped some, and now we're supposed to  
decide what we want to do with our lives. And I just realized that that's what I want to do. Fight  
evil, help people. I mean, I-I think it's worth doing. And I don't think you do it because you have  
to. It's a good fight, Buffy, and I want in."  
"Choices" Season Three  
End


End file.
